The present invention relates toga plating method using four-bed flat knitting machine and, more particularly, to a plating method for knitting knitwear, such as a sweater and a cardigan, seamlessly.
Plating is a knitting technique used to produce, for example, reversible fabrics, or used to improve stretch of fabrics by an elastic yarn used as a plating yarn, such as woolly nylon, being woven in a plating relationship with the main yarn. In the plating, the back yarn is wrapped by the front yarn in such a yarn feeding condition that the front yarn shows on the front side of the formed loop and the back yarn hides on the reverse side (back side) of the same. Consequently, in the plating, a specially-designed yarn feeder is used for allowing the front yarn to be in a lower position than the back yarn so that the back yarn can be positioned nearer to the needle hook than the front yarn at the yarn-feeding position and the front yarn and the back yarn can be spaced from each other in the vertical direction so that they can be captured by the knitting needles. Examples of the specially-designed yarn feeder are the yarn feeder having the structure wherein a front-yarn yarn feeding guide is made ahead of a back-yarn yarn feeding guide, the yarn feeder having the structure wherein the front-yarn yarn feeding guide is in a lower position than the back-yarn yarn feeder, and the yarn feeder having both of these structures.
These yarn feeders operate well in the so-called two-bed flat knitting machines of general type comprising a pair of front and back needle beds, to produce a neat plating fabric. However, there is presented the problem when such a yarn feeder is used with the so-called four-bed flat knitting machine comprising first and second lower needle beds arranged in pair in front and back and first and second upper needle beds disposed over the pair of lower needle beds, as disclosed by Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei 1(1989)-57173. The flat knitting machine having this structure was developed particularly for the purpose of knitting a seamless knitwear whose front fabric and back fabric knitted in layers in front and back are joined together at each widthwise side end thereof so as to be knitted into a tubular form. In the knitting of the seamless knitwear, the front loops of the front knitting fabric are knitted with the needles of the first lower needle bed, and the back loops are knitted with the needles of the second upper needle bed. Also, the front loops of the back knitting fabric are knitted with the needles of the second lower needle bed, and the back loops are knitted with the needles of the first upper needle bed. In the tubular plating fabric including a rib knitting structure knitted in this manner, the front yarn and the back yarn are caused to change over positions in spots to thereby produce a mottled fabric and, as a result of this, a neat plating fabric cannot be produced.
This stems from the structure of the needle beds of the four-bed flat knitting machine wherein the upper needle beds are disposed in a nearly horizontal position, as compared with the lower needle beds. After having devoted himself to study this, the inventor found the fact that since the needles on the upper needle beds follow a further nearly horizontal track, the yarns are drawn in by the needle hooks with an insufficient time difference between the timing for the front yarn to be drawn in by the needle hook and the timing for the back yarn to be drawn in by the needle hook and, as a result of this, the positional relationship between the front yarn and the back yarn is made unstable to sometimes cause the front yarn and the back yarn to change over positions.
In the light of the problem involved in the plating knitting by the four-bed flat knitting machine, the present invention had been made. It is the object of the present invention to provide a knitting method to steady the condition for the front yarn and the back yarn to be fed, so as to produce a neat plating fabric without mottles.
The present invention provides a plating method for knitting a tubular fabric by using a four-bed type flat knitting machine comprising a first lower needle bed and a second lower needle bed which are arranged in pair in front and back and a first upper needle bed and a second upper needle bed which are arranged over the respective lower needle beds, wherein a first knitting fabric including a rib knitting knitted with needles on the first lower needle bed and the second upper needle bed and a second knitting fabric including a rib knitting knitted with needles on the first upper needle bed and the second lower needle bed are joined together at each widthwise side end thereof, so as to be knitted into a tubular form and the knitting fabrics are each knitted to have a plated structure by using a front yarn and a back yarn, and wherein a yarn feeder for the front yarn is displaced in each knitting in such a manner that whenever the first knitting fabric is knitted, the front yarn can be made closer to the second upper needle bed than the back yarn and whenever the second knitting fabric is knitted, the front yarn can be made closer to the first upper needle bed than the back yarn.
Preferably, the front yarn is made closer to the second upper needle bed, rather than to a center of a needle bed gap between the needle beds, to knit the first knitting fabric and the front yarn is made closer to the first upper needle bed, rather than to the center of the needle bed gap between the needle beds, to knit the second knitting fabric.
Preferably, the back yarn is made closer to the first lower needle bed, rather than to a center of a needle bed gap between the needle beds, to knit the first knitting fabric and the back yarn is made closer to the second lower needle bed, rather than the center of the needle bed gap between the needle beds, to knit the second knitting fabric.